The ultimate end of all revolutionary social change is to establish the sanctity of human life, the dignity of people, the right of every human being to liberty and well-being.

Emma Goldman

My new Poetry page/Continuing Lockdown recordings and relaxations with Insight Timer and protest art and a little bit of new song ‘This Skin’ following George Floyd BLM, next sharing page on sharing spaces for Let Your self Be Seen and my new found love of Dogs…

Lockdown in the UK is slowly easing, comments here of Government decisions aside (my views are pretty much summed up here), there is a mixture of feeling; waves of celebration initially, a ongoing mourning and exhaustion within the health sector and overall I feel a slow and cautious coming together again of family and friends. That’s been my own and conversational experience.

I’ve noticed in myself an appreciation for the creative reflective and possibility of creative time alongside managing financial support, taking Universal Credit and continuing with volunteering (mostly at the Southwark Day Centre For Asylum Seekers, some Extinction Rebellion and Wake Up London and having enough to still support a few homeless friends I have locally with a few pounds. Not all projects I think the Government would agree with and I’m particularly ok with that! Is this what Universal Basic income would be like I have found myself wondering ?

One of the creative projects has been to write up and record some poetry. Ive been writing poetry in a sense for a long time, some stay as a few lines in my diary or journals, some become longer and some become songs. Here’s a few some older and some recent with read recordings on a new poetry page

Another project has been recordings for insight Timer. I remember this app from about 10 years ago, it used to be a few screens of bell sounds and timers. Then it was taken over by 2 brothers who had the vision of a community of people who record and guide meditations and relaxations. I have some friends on there and thought ok I’ll submit some recordings. Here’s my profile with some guided relaxations and songs.

Since the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests I’ve been reading ‘My Grandmothers Hands’ by Resmaa Manakem and listening to talks by a few other writers of colour including Akala, Reni Eddo Lodge and Roxanne Gay.

A song has come from it that I started writing earlier in the year following a course with the Quakers called ‘Being White’ and here is a bit of the intro my plan is to include this in my next ep, due out sometime this year.

The reading also led myself and a friend to look into police violence here in the UK and this led to this …

Next sharing page will be about sharing spaces for the song Let Your Self Be Seen. My question for you would be where do you feel you can do that? To some people or in certain times or places? Love to hear from you and I’ll share written messages and recordings here as usual

and lastly my last 2 months wouldn’t have been the same without these 2, Breeze (with stick) and Happy (with ball) – I haven’t had dogs in my life since I was a child and I took this little summer job to walk them while friends were away. I found myself understanding why so many people have this relationship – the regular walking, the appreciation, the play and the licks! I recommend it to anyone who may feel a bit lonely at this time.

Interestingly my friend Dave told me about this site where you can walk people’s dogs for the love of dogs.

as always lovely to hear from those of you I don’t regularly

love Joe